Jan Cosgrove, President of the Association, accepted a $1,000 check for Southwest Valley Literacy.
Robert Conley
The PebbleCreek Democratic Club held its February meeting on Wednesday, February 3, 2016, in the Tuscany Falls Ballroom at 7:00 pm. Our scheduled speaker, Arizona House Representative Reginald Bolding, was called out of town at the last moment and sent two of his staff in his stead, Charles Fisher, Campaign Director, and Monica Trejo, Policy Director. Representative Bolding represents Legislative District 27 which covers most of downtown Phoenix, South Phoenix, Guadalupe and Laveen and currently serves on the Arizona House Education Committee and the Committee on County and Municipal Affairs.
Mr. Fisher discussed Representative Bolding’s major issues and initiatives concerning guns and education. Ms. Trejo discussed several Education House Bills submitted, sponsored or co-sponsored by Representative Bolding.
The highlight of the evening came with the presentation of a $1000 donation raised by the club to the Southwest Valley Literacy Association. Jan Cosgrove, President of the Association, accepted the check. The 40-year-old association seeks to teach English literacy to adults thereby promoting self-worth, pride and productivity. This is accomplished through the recruiting and training of volunteers, soliciting a generous community, using a proven program of total immersion and community involvement. One example is helping non-native English speakers living in our community prepare for the English Proficiency test as part of the Naturalization application. According to Ms. Cosgrove 85% of the Association’s tutors come from PebbleCreek. The funds were raised through efforts of the Community Benefit Committee, chaired by Irene Manalili and include Beth Kramer, Frankie Veltri and Ann Mason.
Professor Paul Bender, Dean Emeritus, Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, will be the guest speaker on March 2 in the Tuscany Ballroom at 7:00 p.m. Professor Bender will talk on the constitutional cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, its recent decisions and legal issues confronting Arizona. All are welcome to attend the March meeting and take part in what promises to be a very engaging and interesting evening with a distinguished teacher and practitioner of U.S. Constitutional Law.